People will still be able to offend others, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has promised. 

The Seanad is currently considering the Minister’s Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 - commonly known as the ‘Hate Crime Bill’.

Critics of the legislation say it will have a “chilling” impact on freedom of speech and former Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has claimed it could lead to “public disorder” as citizens will be empowered to go around arresting each other for hate crimes.

Speaking to The Hard Shoulder, Minister McEntee said the current “unworkable” legislation needs to be updated and denied her proposals would curtail people’s freedom of speech.

“What I’m not doing in this bill is impinging on free speech,” she said.

“People will still be able to disagree vehemently, they’ll be able to have significantly opposing positions, they’ll be able to argue, they’ll be able to insult, offend, do all of these things - it’s where you cross a line to incite others to hate or to be violent against a group of people.

“That is where we’re saying - and I’m saying - a line has been crossed.”

Leinster House.

Minister McEntee said the bill contains safeguards to ensure people can still debate ideas openly and freely.

“We actually have built in protections for the first time in this proposed legislation,” she said.

“Which means for journalistic, academic, scientific, for comedic, for artistic, for general debate and discussion, there is a protection there for people to be able to express their views, their genuinely held beliefs, their religious beliefs - whatever it is - without fear of being labelled as someone who is committing hate crime.”

Minister McEntee said the legislation was necessary due to an increase in hate in recent years.

“The very fact that Gardaí themselves have said they’ve seen increases of hate crime by about 30% - that’s there, that’s factual - that’s something I believe we need to address,” she said.

If passed, the bill will prohibit “incitement to violence or hatred against a person or a group of persons on account of certain characteristics.”

It will also ban people from “condoning, denying or grossly trivialising genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace”.

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Main image: Helen McEntee. Photograph: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie